Josephine Garstki

Mary Ann Eidem (Helfenberger)

August 29, 2018

First, I want to say how sorry I am for the loss of your Mom (Grandma, Great Grandma.). My first memory of her is as a very young child, living next door to your family on Windsor Avenue. And from then on, Mom always referred to her as “Jo next door.” It was almost as if that was her last name 😉. My parents loved having such wonderful neighbors, and we had a lot of fun together! Jo was such a warm, kind, and compassionate person and she always had a smile no matter what was going on in her life. I remember especially what an amazing cook she was, making homemade ravioli or some other pasta dish from scratch. One time, we all went to your house for dinner, and Johnny (my “little” brother sat and played “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” a zillion times on the little record player. She thought it was cute. She was his godmother. We moved to another location in Chicago when I was pretty young yet, and then eventually to Wisconsin. I wish we could have moved our neighbors with us. We missed you guys! We’ve visited each other over the years, but not enough. And, even though the time between visits could be lengthy, it was so heart warming when we did get together. I felt like that carefree little girl again. I sometimes reminisce about the good old days, when Dad took all of us kids to RiverView Park or Santa’s Village, or the summer nights we ran around the yard, catching lightning bugs, or when Mary babysat us and would play songs on the piano and take us to the park, or the time that your Dad drove me to the hospital to get stitches because I fell down the stairs and Dad wasn’t home from work yet. You guys were just like family. And I wanted to say what an impression you made in all our lives. Did I tell you that when my Dad was in his last years and his memory was going, you still were a part of it? He forgot a lot of things, but he still talked about the Garstkis. 😊 I am sorry I can’t be there today, but you are all in my thoughts. Big hugs!

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